CHAPTER XXV.
In a Trap.
For a sane person to find himself suddenly incarcerated in a lunatic asylum is enough to excite a thrill of horror in the most stolid. Ben shuddered and started back, pale and sick with apprehension. He was a brave boy, but it required more courage than he possessed to preserve his coolness under such circumstances.
"What does it mean?" he ejaculated.
"It means, my friend," answered M. Bourdon, with a sardonic smile, "that you are not quite right here," and he tapped his forehead significantly.
He spoke English correctly, but with an accent, having, when a young man, passed several years in England.
"It is a lie!" exclaimed Ben, indignantly, his terror giving place to anger. "My mind is not in the least affected."
M. Bourdon shrugged his shoulders, with another aggravating smile.
"They all say so," he answered.